An excellent addition to the current X-Men series, The Trial Of Magneto by Leah Williams sees the Reign of X itself under threat, as the formerly villainous Magneto, who now basks in the glory of being the founder of the Krakoa is accused of the particularly gruesome murder of Wanda Maximoff. The Hellfire Gala is a meant to be a joyous event where mutants and humankind come together, but things take a turn for the horrific when the Scarlet Witch (now retconned as a non-mutant) is found dead, and in Krakoan territoy no less. Having worked so hard to defend mutant rights, Magneto now must face the music himself as well as the wrath of humankind, heroes and Wanda’s brother Quicksilver. With all this to lose, surely Magneto wouldn’t risk undoing it all but as this Marvel murder mystery unravels a deeper truth is revealed, that will change Krakoa forever.

Whilst the book has Magneto in the title, the emphasis sways more towards Scarlet Witch as the hunt for the truth begins. Essentially this is a murder mystery book, albeit Marvel style and Columbo would have this wrapped up in no time, but it takes a little longer for Earth’s mightiest heroes. The action jumps across several timelines in places, which can be a little jarring at times. The artwork by the team of Lucas Werneck, David Messina and Edgar Delgado is classic and at different points both beautiful and absolutely mesmerising, perfectly capturing the emotional content of the story, as Leah Williams takes us through all the sentiments once again demonstrating her substantial writing chops. The Trial Of Magneto is another great entry into the X-Men series, that pushes the storyline into new and exciting territory….Chris Andrews